1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and method, and a program, and more particularly to an information processing apparatus and method, and a program for analyzing a network in a short time through an easy process.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, efforts have been made to research and develop the technology for analyzing a network of interconnected protein molecules (hereinafter referred to as “protein network”). For example, R. Milo, S. Itzkovitz, N. Kashtan, R. Levitt, S. Shen-Orr, I. Ayzenshtat, M. Sheffer, and U. Alon, “Superfamilies of designed and evolved networks”, Science, 303: 1538-42 (2004) (hereinafter referred to as Non-Patent Document 1) discloses the technology for measuring the frequency of occurrences of patterns (hereinafter referred to as “motifs” or “Motifs”) of three interconnected nodes, each representing a protein, in a protein network.
According to the related art including the Non-Patent Document 1, a large expenditure of time and labor is taken to analyze a protein network because there are many types of proteins to be handled as nodes.
For example, it is important to extract major partial structures from a protein network in knowing the causal association of functions of proteins and also in contributing to estimating carcinogenic processes in cancer research and finding cancer treatment points. It is also of importance to investigate the roles of nodes (to act on other nodes) and determine what types of proteins exist as nodes having those roles, from the extracted major partial structures.
If a protein network is analyzed according to the related art including the Non-Patent Document 1, then a large expenditure of time and labor is taken simply to detect the frequency of occurrences of motifs. Furthermore, a subsequent process of extracting motifs that occur highly frequently as major structures and of investigating the roles of nodes (to act on other nodes) in those motifs and determining what types of proteins exist as nodes having those roles is also in need of a huge expenditure of time and labor.
The problems described above with respect to the analysis of a protein network are also applicable to the analysis of other networks made up of a number of nodes.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is desirable to provide an information processing apparatus and method, and a program for analyzing a network in a short time through an easy process.